


He Loved Him Too

by remoonyblack



Series: Marauders x Walkers [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Crushes, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Jegulus, Love, M/M, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29754462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remoonyblack/pseuds/remoonyblack
Summary: “I love you,” James said.Regulus’ heart stopped. “What?”“I love you,” James repeated, smiling slightly.Swallowing deeply, Regulus kissed him again.Or, in which Regulus Black and James Potter go on a mission together.
Relationships: Regulus Black/James Potter
Series: Marauders x Walkers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185317
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	He Loved Him Too

**Author's Note:**

> Part two of the Marauders x Zombie apocalypse series!   
> I had a dream about Jegulus a few days ago and it inspired me to write this one-shot.   
> Hope you enjoy :)

“There’s no walkers,” said James as he and Regulus stepped out of the car.   
They’d been driving for the past hour, with the goal to get to town for food, since the camp was starting to run low.   
Regulus still wasn’t sure why it was him that had been sent on his mission with James. Usually it was James and Sirius that did these kinds of things together while Regulus stayed back with the others.   
‘The Marauders’ as they liked to call themselves consisting of Regulus’ older brother Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans usually were the ones who did the hard work. It was their job to leave whenever there was need of food or other supplies and they killed off walkers that have gotten to close to the safe area.   
Meanwhile, Regulus spent most his days babysitting Neville Longbottom, Frank, and Alice Longbottom’s two year old son.  
In fact, he had been sitting out in the sun, playing about with Neville when James suddenly appeared by his side, asking him to come with on a mission.  
“Someone else will have to look after Neville then,” Regulus said, hesitantly. He didn’t much like leaving the little boy out of his sight. After spending more time with Neville than Neville spent with Frank and Alice, Regulus had developed a strong protection of him.  
“I’ll look after him,” said Marlene McKinnon. “Neville loves me, don’t you?” Neville giggled and reached out for her as Marlene brought him into her arms and smiled at Regulus and James. “Go on you two, I’ll take care of the wee one. But please do be careful out there.”   
“We’re always careful, Marls” said James, smirking. Then he turned to Regulus. “Ready, Reg?”  
“Yes, I suppose,” Regulus replied.   
At present time, Regulus’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It was unusual after all, to see a place with no walkers anywhere in sight.   
“Do you reckon someone else has been here before us?” Regulus asked. “Killed off the walkers, taken all food and left?”   
“Maybe,” James said. “But let’s not get too comfortable just yet. Constant vigilance as Moody would’ve said.”  
Regulus agreed and clutched his gun in his hand, ready if anything was to happen. He watched as James walked ahead, looking around to make sure that everything was safe.  
Regulus decided then that he quite liked leaving camp. Sure, it was dangerous, but the rush he felt at the knowledge that something could happen any second, was great. And well, maybe it was just being alone with James, but Regulus felt strangely grounded. He’d always felt that way when he was around him, ever since they were both small children.   
James had been 11 and Regulus 9 when they first met. Regulus clearly remembered the fascination he’d felt with the older boy and he too, remembered how he’d felt that same fascination every single day since.   
Life was hard now, but their group kept each other going. However, Regulus was always quite jealous of Sirius and his strong bond with the other marauders. Why was it that James, Remus, and Lily got to be closer to Sirius than he, Regulus, Sirius’ own brother?   
Truth be told, Regulus was quite lonely. He didn’t really have any friends as he more preferred to be alone when he wasn’t babysitting Neville. He supposed he had Severus Snape, a boy his age who joined their group not too long ago, but he didn’t like him a lot and he mostly left Regulus be anyway.   
No one really bothered Regulus.   
Well, except James that is.   
James had always been there for him. Always including him, always checking up on him, always cheering him up, always protecting him.   
Back when they still lived at the farm, the two had spent many nights, talking while everyone else were asleep. It was during these nights that Regulus really got to see who James Potter was. The James that was out during daylight, taking charge in keeping everyone safe was very different from the James who talked to Regulus at night, spilling out his deepest and darkest thoughts.   
Regulus liked to think that it was only him who got to ever see that side of James.   
It had started one night, after his mother’s death, were Regulus had been awake, crying to himself in the dark of the night. Everyone else were inside, asleep, but Regulus couldn’t. He was in a lot of pain, mourning over the death of his mother, and angry at Sirius. Because Sirius had pushed him away and refused to talk to him, and now that Regulus’ only family didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, he truly felt alone.  
Just then, James Potter had appeared by his side.   
“Even if the world has gone to shit, Reg, it’ll be okay. I promise, I’ll protect you till my last breath.” He’d said.   
That’s how the two of them became close.   
Their friendship was different though. Say, when James and Sirius were together, they were loud, cracking jokes and doing mischief. They showed their affection openly and always had each other’s backs. They’d always choose each other in any form of partnering and it was clear to everyone that the two were each other’s best friends.  
But James with Regulus was different. It was all deep conversations, big smiles, lingering touches, and longing glances.  
“Good one, James.” Regulus grinned as James knocked down a walker that had come their way.   
“Cheers mate,” James winked. “Can’t believe this was the first one we’ve seen, can you? Maybe all walkers are dead by now. Do you think the world could go back to normal then?” he was looking through a shop while talking, occasionally putting stuff into the bag they’d brought.   
Regulus shrugged. “To be honest with you, I’ve kind of given up all hope by now.”   
James frowned. “Never lose hope.”  
“That’s kind of hard, isn’t it?”   
“Well…” James said, the hint of a smile spreading on his lips. “We’ve got each other though, right?”  
“Right,” Regulus said as his heart swelled.   
“We just got to pray to god and all that shit,” James continued, jokingly while examining an old piece of bread. His nose scrunched in disgust and he put it back down. Then he turned to watch Regulus.  
“Well,” Regulus snorted. “If there really is a god, I got to be honest, I don’t get his humor.”   
James grinned and ruffled his hair. “Alright, mate. Let’s get out of here, there’s nothing else of much worth.”   
They left the shop and continued down the streets.   
Regulus had noticed the dead body of a walker. His eyebrows furrowed in disgust. It looked like it had been killed recently, he thought. He reached his foot forward and gently kicked at it.   
Well it was definitely dead.   
“Reg!” James called. Regulus turned and saw James who was standing on the other side of the road, looking at him with confusion. “Get over here,” he said. “It’s not safe, and I found a house to investigate.”   
“Scared for me, Potter?” Regulus asked teasingly as he walked up to James. “I can take care of myself, you know.”   
James flung his arm around Regulus shoulder and started walking towards the house he’d been talking about. “Oh, Reg, you’re a little baby and you know it.”  
The door to the house was open wide with drops of blood everywhere. Regulus frowned at the sight, not liking the thought of what must’ve went down. It was a family that had lived here, so much was clear. On the walls hung family photos and spread around the floor were the occasional children’s toy. But the house was a mess, and it was clear that no one had been there in a while.   
They entered silently, carefully looking around to make sure that it was safe. Once James confirmed no walkers, they made their way to the kitchen and started going through all shelves.   
There wasn’t much. Regulus found a few cans with food that he handed to James.   
James was staring weirdly at one of the photographs on the wall. Regulus stood beside him and watched it too.   
It was a happy family with a newborn baby.   
Oh, it was cruel that Regulus was almost certain that none of these people were still alive to this day.  
“Let’s go,” said Regulus, placing a hand over James shoulder. He could tell that the picture had upset him quite a big deal. James had lost his parents too recently and seemed to be struggling a lot with that fact. More than he let on in front of others. Regulus was happy to do whatever he could, to make him feel better. “Let’s go home now, yeah?”  
But James shook his head. “No, we haven’t found enough.”  
He insisted that they checked upstairs too, though Regulus doubted that there would be much of anything in an old bedroom. When they’d got up there, Regulus was met with a gross rotten smell. He quickly covered his nose. “James, I don’t thin—”  
“Shh!” said James. He was leaning his head against a closed door. “There’s something in there.”  
“That’s where the smell is coming from,” Regulus said, his voice muffled by the sleeve of his shirt. “Don’t bloody open it.”  
“The room belongs to a child,” James said, sadly. On the door there was a picture of a little animated unicorn next to the name Anna. This must’ve been the newborn baby’s room, then. “What if there’s a baby trapped in there?”  
“If there’s a baby in there, I assure you that it’s dead now, mate.”   
James frowned at him. “Can you hear it?”   
Regulus stepped closer and concentrated on listening. It was true. On the other side of the door was a slight thump that was repeated over and over again.   
“Let’s just go,” Regulus tried, but James shook his head again.   
“I need to set the baby free.”   
“It’s dangerous.”   
“It isn’t,” James said firmly. “I know for a fact that if that baby was mine, I wouldn’t want it to continue living on as a dead… monster. I’d want my baby to be able to move on.”   
“Okay…” Regulus hesitated. Then he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the door. “Go on then.”   
James smiled thankfully and grabbed a hold of the door. The thud from inside the room stilled at the sound of the door slowly creeping open. Regulus drew a breath as the door swung open fully, expecting to see a little baby. However, at first, there was nothing.   
He and James looked at each other and Regulus was about to speak up, when suddenly a full grown walker came out, throwing itself at James who yelped in surprise.   
It wasn’t a baby after all, this walker had long blonde hair and was no doubt the mother. As James was struggling with the walker, Regulus aimed his gun but wasn’t able to fire, too scared to accidentally hit James who now had managed to turn it over and pin it against the wall.   
Regulus needed to find something sharp. He turned quickly, looking for something close. The only thing he seemed to be able to find was children’s toy that was thrown on the floor, looking quite miserable. Regulus grabbed it without a moments hesitation and just as the walker was about to bite James’ arm, he pushed it away and stabbed it hard right in the head.   
It was a struggle, but after a few seconds, it stopped moving and fell to the ground. Regulus let go of the toy and stepped back, breathing heavily.   
“Are you okay?” James asked, breathless.   
“Am I okay?” Regulus said. “Yes, I’m okay! Bloody hell, Potter, are you okay?!”  
James looked down at the walker and back up at Regulus. “I’m sorry.”   
About an hour and a half later, the two of them were back in the car.   
After the walker attack, neither of them had really felt like doing much hunting, and they had found a lot of stuff anyway. James was quiet on the whole way back to the car, as Regulus stared at him with unease.   
Something about what happened back there was bothering James and he wasn’t quite sure what.   
James closed his eyes as he let his head rest on the seat of the car. “Give me a minute and I’ll drive us home.”   
Regulus nodded and stared down at his hands.   
After a long silence, James cleared his throat and turned to Regulus. “There’s something I need to tell you.”  
“Yes?” said Regulus, relieved that James was now talking. Talking always helped when either of them were upset.   
“I just want you to know that it wasn’t… intentional.”   
“What?”   
“And I’m sorry.”   
“James, what is it?”   
He took a deep breath and looked anywhere but at Regulus. “Lily’s pregnant.”   
“Oh.”   
For a few seconds, the world seemed to stop, and Regulus’ whole body went cold.   
Only a week prior, Regulus and James had been sitting closely together one night where it was particularly cold. They were the only two awake, as they were so often. Sometimes Regulus even wondered if anyone knew that the two of them were friends. It kind of seemed as though they could only be together when no one else were around.   
They’d been in the middle of talking and James had laughed at something, making his eyes light up in that way that Regulus liked so much. When James stopped laughing, their eyes met and for a long moment they were just staring at one another. Before either of them knew what was going on, they were kissing.  
It was long and loving and everything one could ever dream of.   
Now, sitting in the car, Regulus thought back to that moment with an aching heart. So Lily was pregnant… with James’ child. Now he understood why he’d been so bothered back at the house.   
“The other’s aren’t going to like that,” Regulus managed to choke out.   
It had been a discussion in their group many times: No children! They’re impractical. They make too much noise and need too much attention. It’ll weaken the group, besides, it would be cruel to put a human being into this terrible world.  
“Yes, well…” James said. “There’s nothing we can do about it now.”   
Regulus nodded. “Congratulations, I suppose. You’ll be starting your own little family then?”   
“Reg,” James said, pleadingly. “I’m really sorry.”   
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” Regulus said with a shrug. “I know you like kids. And you like Lily.”  
“No.”  
“No?”   
“I mean… I like Lily, yes. A lot, she’s brilliant. You know she is, you’ve met her. But I just- I don’t know if I want a child with her and everything.”   
“You and Lily are going to be a lovely couple with a lovely child and be a lovely family.” Regulus said, forcing a smile. “I’m happy for you.”   
James just shook his head and reached out, cupping Regulus face with his hands. Regulus stared up at him.   
“You mean a lot to me,” James whispered. “You know that, right?”  
Regulus shrugged. Instead of answering he said, “Do you have to be with Lily?”  
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” James replied. “I have to.”   
Regulus tried to ignore the feeling of having been stabbed in the chest. Because he knew what this was. This was James making a choice. He wasn’t trying to solve the problem. He wasn’t suggesting that he and Regulus still could be together even if he had a child with someone else. He was choosing Lily Evans over Regulus because he did, after all, love her more.   
James had moved closer and the pair was now resting their foreheads against one another. He sighed deeply and pressed a light kiss to Regulus mouth.  
“I love you.” James said.   
Regulus’ heart stopped. “What?”   
“I love you,” James repeated, smiling slightly.   
Swallowing deeply, Regulus kissed him again.   
He couldn’t get himself to say it back, but he knew he did. Regulus loved James too. And perhaps he loved him enough that he was okay with letting him go.


End file.
